As Mark Ruffalo is hit with antisemitism accusations over his criticism of the Paramount-WBD merger, Jane Fonda has come out in the actor’s defense.
On Tuesday, the 2x Oscar-winning actress Committee for the First Amendment founder issued a statement via the organization, rejecting Paramount’s “cynical attempt to falsely label Mark Ruffalo as antisemitic” and “their effort to distract from the issue at hand: the dangerous consolidation of media power” that would come from the acquisition.
“Mark Ruffalo has a First Amendment right to speak out about politics, powerful corporations and this dangerous merger — full stop,” she said. “Calling his criticism antisemitic is a smear to delegitimize criticism of the merger and to distract from the question Paramount would rather not answer: should one company be allowed to accumulate this much power over our movies, television and news?”
Fonda continued, “The original Committee for the First Amendment was founded to stand against blacklisting and intimidation of people for their political beliefs. We will not stand by while the government or its allies revive those tactics to bully activists into silence today.”
Watch on Deadline
After Ruffalo shared a video of Oracle’s executive vice chair Safra Catz discussing how they made some “really profoundly scary technology” available to the Israeli military in its attacks on Gaza following the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas terror attack, Paramount responded saying they are “troubled when antisemitic tropes are invoked in purported service of a business dispute.”
“This doesn’t deserve a response in kind — and to be clear, we don’t tolerate prejudice of any kind, against anyone,” a Paramount spokesperson said.
Ruffalo called the “antisemitic” accusation “appalling and fundamentally dishonest,” adding, “Criticizing the actions of the Israeli prime minister, a military technology contract, or the executives who supply it is not the same as criticizing Jewish people. This critical and necessary dialogue is then dishonestly framed as being anti-Israel. To be clear, my views come from my own political convictions and should never be interpreted as hostility toward Jewish people, for whom I have deep love and respect. Everything I know about acting, activism, and humanism has been profoundly shaped by the Jewish friends, colleagues, and loved ones who have been integral and family throughout every point of my life.”
While several in Hollywood, including Hannah Einbinder and John Cusack, have showed their support for Ruffalo, multiple organizations have agreed with Paramount labeling the actor “antisemitic,” particularly the Simon Wiesenthal Center and the Anti-Defamation League.
In February, Netflix threw in the towel on the Warner Bros. deal, refusing to raise its bid against Paramount Skydance’s “superior” $31-per-share offer, following the $82.7 billion deal Netflix signed with WBD in December before the Ellison-owned company launched its hostile takeover.
Ruffalo previously teamed up with attorney Norm Eisen in April to urge state officials to enact antitrust laws and block the hostile takeover, accumulating more than 5,000 signatures on an open letter claiming the merger will “threaten the sustainability of the entire creative community.” The letter was organized by the Committee for the First Amendment, the Future Film Coalition, the Writers Guild of America and the Democracy Defenders Fund.
